If you thought economics was boring, think again. At the heart of wars, land grabs, politics, history, and almost any sort of human interaction lies economics. Remember – economics is about money, and money, depending upon your perspective, either makes the world go ‘round or is the root of all evil.

Either way, Jason Hartman’s interview of master economist, Martin Armstrong, for episode #382 of The Creating Wealth Show makes for scintillating listening. First, some background.

Martin Armstrong is the former chairman of Princeton Economics International Ltd. He is best known for his economic predictions based on the Economic Confidence Model, which he developed. In September 1999, Armstrong faced prosecution by the Securities and Exchange Commission and the Commodity Futures Trading Commission for fraud. During the trial, Armstrong was imprisoned for over seven years for civil contempt of court, one of the longest-running cases of civil contempt in American legal history. In August 2006, Armstrong pleaded guilty to one count of conspiracy to commit fraud, and began a five-year sentence.

Armstrong is the developer of the Economic Confidence Model based on business cycles. He is known for claiming to have predicted the crash of 1987 to the very day. Using his theory that boom-bust cycles occur once every 3,141 days (the number pi multiplied by 1000), Armstrong claimed in 1999 to have predicted the Nikkei’s collapse in 1989 and Russia’s financial collapse in 1998.

During this interview Jason and Martin delve into a number of topics:

Putin’s PlanArmstrong reminds us that Russian President Putin is a KGB disciple who would love nothing more than to put the Soviet Union back together. Through this prism, it’s not difficult to see the reasons behind his land grab in the Ukraine. He believes that the strength of a nation depends upon how much territory it owns, so look out Poland, etc! It’s also worthwhile to note that the failure of communism in Russia left a void that has been filled by a good, old-fashioned oligarchy.

Inflation vs. DeflationAs all good economists do, Mr. Armstrong has a strong understanding of, and opinions about, the inflation and deflation in an economy. Of course, Jason loves this topic whenever it arise in conversation. The main point Martin makes is that it is not inflation that destroys an economy, but rather deflation. Listen in as he explains exactly how.

Other notes of interest from the interview:

Why we’re on a 25-year war cycle and 8.6-year business cycle
Why the US ended up in the enviable/unenviable status as the Brinks truck to the world
Is the American dollar now a de facto international currency?
The US will never enter hyperinflation (400% monthly inflation) – our corrupt bankers won’t let it happen
It’s almost impossible for Americans to open a bank account or do business overseas – what is Europe afraid of?
The next economic implosion will be in pension funds
The real reason behind the recent huge influx of foreigners buying real estate investments in the US

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